THE emotion overcame Craig Houston. On a whirlwind day at the end of a frantic few weeks, he took a couple of minutes to himself to reflect on a trip that was months in the making.
Few would have embarked on the challenge that Houston and the Sons of Struth academy took on. Even fewer would have pulled it off in such remarkable fashion last Tuesday.
A near 200-strong travelling party of kids, parents, coaches and guests – including former Ibrox greats Willie Henderson and Gordon Smith - were counted out and counted back in again on a day that provided a once-in-a-lifetime excursion to Benfica. For 24 hours, aspiring players lived the dream.
A private charter flight took them to Lisbon before a fleet of coaches provided the transport to the training centre of one of Europe’s most famous clubs. By the time they returned to the airport, two sessions had been conducted under the guidance of the Benfica staff, while a tour of the Estadio da Luz and museum were fitting rewards off the park for their endeavours on it.
Picture: Sons of Struth / Smart Aviation
The excitement and apprehension coursed through Houston’s veins throughout the day. In a moment of calm, he was able to reflect on an astonishing achievement.
“When the doors shut on the plane and everyone was on board, it was a massive relief,” Houston told Herald and Times Sport.
“But it all didn’t hit me until we arrived at the training centre and the kids were preparing for the first session. It caught me, the emotions got to me. We were there.
“I actually left the session for five, ten minutes to compose myself and when I came back I was walking down towards the pitch, looking at all those kids, immaculately prepared, ready for training.
“It was something special to behold and that one sight will live with me forever. It was phenomenal. It was really emotional.
Picture: Angus Blacklock Youth Football Scotland
“I was full of pride and the words and expressions from the kids over the trip were wonderful. Volunteers are paid in a currency called smiles and they made me feel like a millionaire.
“The fact that we were able to get the trip to happen, in a global pandemic, was an amazing achievement and the quality of the trip itself was mind blowing. It was above even my wildest dreams.”
Houston may be the public face of the Sons of Struth but he is by no means a one-man show at an academy that has gone from strength to strength at quite incredible pace over the last few years.
He stresses his thanks to his volunteer coaches, to treasurer John Stevenson and the staff of Smart Aviation for their roles in putting the plan together. Every piece of the jigsaw fitted in perfectly.
Such an endeavour would challenge many full-time organisations across the country. Sons of Struth are amateur in name, but they are professional in operation and their Benfica trip is by some way their greatest feat to date.
Picture: Angus Blacklock Youth Football Scotland
“The hope is that the coaching and the surroundings and the whole experience benefits them as football players, but it will benefit them as people first and foremost,” Houston said.
“The harsh reality means that there is a very small percentage of kids from any team or academy that become professional footballers, but we have given the kids a taste of what it is like and an experience that will live with them for the rest of their lives.
“They had their own plane, they were on team buses, they were coached at a fantastic facility and treated like professionals throughout the whole day.
“Whatever happens to them going forward, they have lived that life for one day at least.
“Hopefully it will drive some of them to achieve their ambitions in the game. For those who do not, it has given them an experience that very few have had.”
A partnership with coaching school Coerver – the brainchild of Dutchman and former Feyenoord manager Wiel Coerver – has been integral to the rise and rise of the Sons of Struth. There is plenty more to come.
A dozen players enquired about joining the academy within 24 hours of SoS landing back in Glasgow, while a Facebook post about the excursion reached an audience of 50,000 people before they had even left Lisbon.
Picture: Sons of Struth / Smart Aviation
Such exposure speaks volumes for the reputation that Houston and his team have as one of Scotland’s most innovative youth structures and plans for growth will now be accelerated as the Sons of Struth inspire a generation.
“We have put plans in place to hopefully secure short-term benefits to allow us to expand even more,” Houston said. “We will announce plans shortly.
“We are very fortunate with the amount of good people that are involved with the club and three very well-known people want to help us secure our own training facility. We will be forming a body to do that over the next few months.
Picture: Angus Blacklock Youth Football Scotland
“One of the hardest things for us to expand further is training facilities. We are at a point now where we need to consider our own facilities and hopefully we will see more of that in the next couple of months.
“We are working on another plan with Coerver, and hopefully Benfica, that will give the kids another pathway of experiences with them.
"If we pull this one off, it would be something that would only be equalled by the Old Firm.”
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